Alloa chairman Mike Mulraney insists new Wasps manager Jim Goodwin is cashing in after taking a gamble in joining the part-time club during the summer.

Former St Mirren midfielder Goodwin was appointed as Jack Ross’ successor on Tuesday, just four months after arriving at the Indodrill stadium as a player.

Goodwin joined Alloa knowing that the highly-rated Ross could be head-hunted, and that’s exactly what happened when the Buddies came calling.

Mulraney insists the 34-year-old was in a prime position to takeover the reins.

Mulraney said: “One of the interesting factors for me was that Jim took a little gamble when he came here in the summer.

“You’re making your judgements as a chairman based on little bits of information and obviously I knew about Jim’s career, but I think it said a lot about his character and his preparedness to take a gamble.

“You didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to work out that we are a club where successful managers move on and I think he recognised that Jack had a chance of doing so, even if it happened perhaps sooner than we all thought.

“We were pleased that Jim came to our club. He’s a fantastic player, with a fantastic track record, and we believe he strengthened us, and that was a big factor in our decision.

“You chat to people and you decide if you can work with them. Jim and I had a chat and that’s kind of how it works at Alloa.

“We don’t go through the traditional interview process as many clubs do. We decide who we want to work with and we have a chat with them.

“That was the process we went through and we believe we’ve got it right again.

“But it’s not going to be easy. It’s a tough task, it’s a tough league, with some very good teams.

“But we’ve got a great squad and we believe we’ve got a great manager.”